The exhibition, called Mean Girls, opened at the Space Gallery on Liberty Avenue downtown last weekend. The installation features pieces from 10 different artists, four of whom are from Pittsburgh.

One piece shows two composite photographs -- one of boys, the other of girls. The names and ages of young people who committed suicide after being bullied are cut out of the photos, and the letters lie on the floor. One girl, Tori Wilson, was only 8 when she killed herself.

"I think it's a huge epidemic and I think it's getting worse, with cyber bullying happening now," curator Jill Larson says. "It used to be you had to know the person. Now you don't even need to know them."

Another piece in the exhibit features two 6-foot tall cutouts of the iconic female symbol seen on women's restroom doors. One is red; the other is pink. Visitors are encouraged to write on the large cutouts. On the pink, they write about a time when they were bullied. On the red, they write about a time when they were the aggressor.

"I have had one woman come up to me and say that she could fill the red girl by herself," Larson says.

"I hope it would have the impact to make people think about a time that they've been bullied or a time that they've bullied someone else, because not everyone notices that what they say really affects other people," says visitor Ayla Zimmerman, of Murrysville.

Larson hopes the exhibit will be featured in galleries, schools and universities around the country. It will be at the Space Gallery, 812 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, through April 28. The exhibit will also host events, including a youth workshop, a lecture and a dance project. Go to the Mean Girls website for more information.